The Christian Ecumenical Council of Guatemala is a space for meeting, dialogue and articulation of common actions among the main churches of Guatemala, to promote the common good, Christian values, and advocacy.

It is integrated by:

Comisión de Ecumenismo de la Conferencia Episcopal Católica de Guatemala (The Ecumenical Commission of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Guatemala)

Conferencia de Religiosas y Religiosos de Guatemala (CONFREGUA) (The Conference of Clergy and Nuns of Guatemala

Iglesia Episcopal de Guatemala (The Episcopal Church of Guatemala)

Alianza de Presbiterios Reformados de Guatemala (The Alliance of Reformed Presbyteries of Guatemala)

Iglesia Luterana de Guatemala (ILUGUA) (The Lutheran Church of Guatemala)

Iglesia Evangélica San Juan Apóstol (The Evangelical Church of San Juan Apóstol)

I have a passion for the incarnated gospel that seeks to lower from the cross the crucified peoples, and I found a space that feels the same as me, and that brings together and acts with those who feel the same, announcing with alternative practices the world with which God dreams, and denouncing corruption and impunity with a voice heard in the public sphere.

I came to commit myself to the incarnated gospel by experiencing racism in the United States for speaking English with a Latin accent and proceeding from a colony, Puerto Rico. It angered me to realize that my uncles and my people had been crucified; and in the presence of God I said to myself, from now on, I commit my life to bringing down the crucified peoples of their crosses.

Is there a passage of scripture that carries special meaning in your daily work?

Announce the jubilee, the Covenant alliance at Sinai, to the people who should not reproduce slavery, because they had been slaves. Alliance that the monarchy broke and that the prophets revived in the expectation of the arrival of the Christ Messiah who would establish a human domain that would humanize the relations in society. The one who proclaimed that message on the threshold of his earthly service is the one who inspires my path.

What are some of the challenges facing the people of Guatemala, our partner, or yourself?

The challenges facing our colleagues and I in the ministry are specified according to three violent expressions:

Violence with physical effects• Stocking up on weaponry, militarism, and new wars (terrorism and paramilitarism)• Human trafficking and trafficking of weapons, organs, and drugs• Organized crime and gangs• Armed conflicts, peace agreements, and pending accounts• Security war plans• Militarization of governmental security forces• Youth and children engaged in violence• Femicide and violence against women• Borders subject to security logic• Assassinations, robberies, forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and executions, use of torture• Assaults and even killings of human rights defenders and journalists

Violence embedded in political and social structures that obstruct the satisfaction of human needs (survival, welfare, identity or freedom)• Hoarding of strategic resources, megaprojects, monocultures of capitalism• Unequal wealth distribution• Unemployment, public indebtedness, deaths due to malnutrition and curable diseases• Climate change and the destruction of nature• Coercion of the self-determination of indigenous peoples and people of African descent• Modern colonial state• Patriarchy• Colonialism and imperialism• Impunity and deficient justice systems• Inequity generated by a capitalist system in its neoliberal form

That it is necessary to organize and mobilize our strengths so that the sons and daughters of God who suffer injustices become actors.

That we must accompany those who struggle with preparedness to promote peace effectively, promoting analyses of the economic world system, patriarchy and racism, and favoring the crossing of ethnic, racial, intergenerational, interreligious and gender borders.

That we must fight with memory so that reconciliation is healing and not impunity.

That humanity must be affirmed against all bestiality for living in peace.

That with those who suffer and those who struggle today we need to be their partners.

That the prophetic voice must be raised to be heard.

Which books have influenced your understanding of your country, work, or theology?

Ricardo Mayol serves with the Ecumenical Christian Council of Guatemala (CECG). His appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, WOC, OGHS, and your special gifts.